Milestones

Her family grew up in Kashmir but immigrated to America because of the violence between India and Pakistan.

Her mother died of breast cancer when she was one year old, and her father died suddenly from a heart attack when she was four years old.

Because she was raised by an immigrant family who didn't believe in therapy, she had a very hard time coping with those losses.

Eventually, she and her sisters started lying to everyone and saying they lived with an adult, when really, they were alone and raising themselves.

She took advantage of summer camps, where she could get a free lunch and have fun to help her forget some of her stress.

Saw spoken word for the first time and realized that she'd found an outlet where people would listen to and respect her story.

The first time she performed her poetry on a stage, she had to perform sitting down because her knees were shaking so badly she couldn't stand.

Says poetry allowed her to control and share her story, and that's why she has built her life around the craft.

Keep following my journey

Education

High School

BachelorInternational Relations and AffairsBrown University

Career

Poet/Performer

I am a poet, performer, photographer, writer and thinker who is almost always in-between two places.

Career Roadmap

My work combines:

My work combines:

Art

Writing

Communicating / Sharing Stories

Day to Day

I write most days. Poetry, screenplays, books, and more. I travel a lot to tour and promote my work.

Skills & Qualities Beyond School

With poetry, you don't always need to look for feedback or acceptance. Sometimes it's about just getting a story out and that's okay. Don't focus on whether or not something is "good", focus on the possibilities.

Advice for Getting Started

Here's the first step for everyone

You need to create a space for yourself where you can be whole and no one can mess with that. Writing can be selfish sometimes, especially if you write about your life and experiences. You have to learn to ignore those voices and stop apologizing for who you are and embrace it!

Recommended Education

My career is related to what I studied. I'd recommend the path I took:

BachelorInternational Relations and Affairs

Hurdles

The Noise I Shed

From Myself:

"I can't do this, I'm not good enough. "

I had to learn to not let myself talk negatively about myself. There is no good that comes from that kind of self-negativity. You have to fight for yourself and what you want.

Challenges I Overcame

Orphan

Orphan

My mom died of breast cancer when I was one. And then my father passed when I was 4 or 5 from a heart attack, so it was a very sudden thing.

First-Generation Immigrant

First-Generation Immigrant

My family was from Kashmir, Pakistan, but immigrated to America because of the violence between India and Pakistan.

LGBT

LGBT

I'm a queer South Asian Muslim woman which is something people don't often see. Which is why I make it a point to include characters that reflect my particular point of view in my work.